Cryogenic SEM techniques have been used to obtain high-resolution images of very rapidly formed, laboratory-grown CO_2 hydrate. Careful etching and ablation of the sample inside the SEM revealed that hydrate crystals were formed in a matter of seconds during a rapid depressurization event. This event resulted in a very dynamic, fizzing crystal "mush", in which water, gaseous CO_2, liquid CO_2 and CO_2 hydrate coexisted. This short-lived phenomenon was captured through quenching the experiment by rapid freezing.
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